2.2mn Yemen children acutely malnourished

Sanaa/ AFP

Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, victims of the near-collapse of the health care system during two years of escalating conflict, UN children’s fund UNICEF said on Tuesday.
At least 462,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, as food supplies have been disrupted by the devastating war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels, the agency said.
Saada province, a rebel bastion in the far north, has the world’s highest stunting rate among children with eight out of 10 children affected in some areas, it added.
“Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing,” said UNICEF’s acting country representative, Meritxell Relano.
“The state of health of children in the Middle East’s poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today.”
At least one child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen because of malnutrition and preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections.